KARACHI, June 21: The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board on Wednesday continued its drive of de-silting and cleaning of drains on emergency basis and the officials concerned were ordered to ensure covering of all open manholes in the city.

Presiding over a meeting of senior officials of water board, KWSB Managing Director Brig Iftikhar Haider said that during the first phase those sections of the nullahs would be cleared where mud and garbage was blocking their flow. He said that in the second phase, all sections of nullahs would undergo this process from downstream to upstream.

He asked the officials to display banners of KWSB on all excavators, loaders and dumpers. Besides, he said that staff carrying out this drive should also wear the official jackets.

He directed that mechanical and electrical departments of the KWSB to keep generators ready in sewerage pumping stations so that they could also work during power outages. He said that 131 pumping stations providing drinking water to the city should also be properly maintained.

The meeting was told that the city nazim had asked the police department to provide cooperation to the KWSB employees during the drain-cleaning drive. It was told that the total length of drains in Karachi was 346kms and they were undergoing a de-silting drive after many years.

KWSB Saddar Town Superintending Engineer Ghulam Qadir told the meeting that the Karachi Port Trust had blocked the flow of two nullahs leading to the sea, and it was feared that during rains discharge of water of these nullah might be affected. The KWSB MD said that he would raise this issue with the concerned quarters.

KWSB Chief Engineer (Infrastructure) Asudo Mal, Chief Engineers Imran Asif, Najam Alam, Qutub Shaikh and others were present.—PPI